Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

While on vacation, a just-divorced writer buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim, hoping it will be the start of a change for the better in her life.

Director:

Audrey Wells

Writers:

Frances Mayes (book), Audrey Wells (screen story),

Stars:

Diane Lane, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Duncan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diane Lane	...	Frances
Sandra Oh	...	Patti
Lindsay Duncan	...	Katherine
Raoul Bova	...	Marcello
Vincent Riotta	...	Martini
Mario Monicelli	...	Old Man with Flowers
Roberto Nobile	...	Placido
Anita Zagaria	...	Fiorella
Evelina Gori	...	Nona Cardinale
Giulia Steigerwalt	...	Chiara
Pawel Szajda	...	Pawel
Valentine Pelka	...	Jerzy
Sasa Vulicevic	...	Zbignew
Massimo Sarchielli	...	Nino
Claudia Gerini	...	Signora Raguzzi

Storyline

After Frances's seemingly happy San Francisco marriage ends abruptly, she goes into a funk. Urged by her friends to move on, she joins a bus tour of Tuscany where, on the spur of the moment, she buys a crumbling villa. She assembles a crew of oddballs and immigrants to repair the house; over the next year, as they work, she welcomes one of her San Francisco friends who's pregnant and at loose ends, and she seeks love, first (tenuously) with her married real estate agent, then with a charming stranger. Although life gets in the way of love, Frances's wishes come true in unexpected ways, and there's always the Tuscan sun.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | love | villa | divorce | house | 

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Taglines:

The Only Thing More Surprising Than The Chance She's Taking...Is Where It's Taking Her

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian Polish French Spanish German

Release Date:

26 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bajo el sol de Toscana

Filming Locations:

Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£203,634 (UK) (26 March 2004)

Gross:

£440,167 (UK) (2 April 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Timnick Films, Blue Gardenia Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer/director Audrey Wells said that when she was writing the script, the only actress she thought of to play Patti was Sandra Oh. They had worked together on Guinevere. One of Oh's guests on the Italian location was her fiancé Alexander Payne.

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Goofs

On the market prices are in lire, however the euro was introduced in 2002.

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Quotes

Frances: Do you know the most surprising thing about divorce? It doesn't actually kill you. Like a bullet to the heart or a head-on car wreck. It should. When someone you've promised to cherish till death do you part says "I never loved you," it should kill you instantly. You shouldn't have to wake up day after day after that, trying to understand how in the world you didn't know. The light just never went on, you know. I must have known, of course, but I was too scared to see the truth. Then fear just ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Il vecchiotto cerca moglie"
(from "Il barbiere di Siviglia" Act II No. 14: Berta's aria)
Music by Gioachino Rossini
Performed by Magyar Rádió Énekkara (as Hungarian Radio Chorus) (credited but not used) and the Failoni Kamerazenekar (as Failoni Chamber Orchestra)
Sung by Ingrid Kertesi (uncredited)
Courtesy of Naxos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Italian for beginners...

Something very strange happened on the way to make this film. It appears as though director and adapter, Audrey Wells, threw the original text away only to create her own trip to Tuscany. With the help of her gorgeous star, Ms. Wells found backing for this pastiche she ended up presenting to us, which bears almost no resemblance to the original book by Frances Mayes.

This is a movie full of cliches: The lonely and naive American tourist that would stay in Italy, the Latin lover, the good lesbian friend, and last, but not least, the eccentric Brit living in the small town!

The best thing this film offers is the radiant Diane Lane, who is just gorgeous enough to make us forget the story and what is she doing in the mess she is in. Also, Lindsay Duncan, another great British actress doing a crude interpretation of her own "La Dolce Vita" some 44 years later.

This is a typical "date film" which will be enjoyed by those people that didn't read the book.